The Calm before the Storm
by MusicalNinja15
Summary: One final moment alone before chaos ensued. One conversation held before their predicted death. One secret confession made. One night where everything was forgotten. Takes place during KFP3/One-shot/Po x Tigress


Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

 **The Calm before the Storm**

… _the fear of losing someone you love makes the truth come out…_

* * *

She blinked into the cool night air, her amber eyes aching as another tear fell to its demise. She had never felt like this before.

So alone.

So empty.

So numb.

She stroked her striped tail for comfort, pulling it close to her chest as she continued to mourn in silence. The warrior didn't care about her reputation as a fearless leader, her twenty years as a hardcore fighter, she needed this moment alone.

She dug her claws into the ground, cursing; there was no one around anymore to judge her softness.

The grass soon began to shiver as the hours passed by and the evening mist appeared, offering an alternate reality to what once was a crystal clear perspective of the land.

But to Tigress it all felt the same. No matter how many seconds, minutes, or hours fled the earth, she would only come closer to death. She breathed heavily, knowing that it was certain that she would reach the end very soon. In the past, the feline would have never thought in this manner. However, depression was looming over, washing her mind, her body, and her spirit with emptiness.

They were gone.

Her friends, her comrades, her family, were gone.

They had been evaporated into a sea of green, never to be seen except in memory.

That monster had taken them as prisoner. Killed their souls and made them his.

The tiger held back a cry.

He had killed the closest thing she had to a parent.

Shifu.

She didn't even get to say goodbye.

She had run as fast as her paws could take her to the secret panda village, keeping the sacred scroll safe for the Dragon Warrior.

She had hoped, prayed that the answer of achieving renewed life would lie within the secrets of the panda village.

But it was utter disappointment. She remembered the faces. A torturous omen hung over the small development. They were all going to die.

Their only protection against the enemy had now been buried, once lost and now forgotten forever: the spiritual art of Chi.

Legend of the sacred scroll foretold Chi to be found in the paws of the pandas. Perhaps, this was in fact what the scroll was titled…only a fool's legend.

Tigress knew very well that Chi existed. She herself had mastered a touch of it within her fighting style. She looked down at her damaged golden attire, knowing her slight knowledge of the magic to be the reason why she had achieved such robes.

But the pandas, they were the ones that were proclaimed to heal, to nurture, and to carry on the very soul of Chi. She could not grasp the ill fortune the world now had to suffer because of a lost art.

Why had Po's biological father lied about knowing the power?

Why had he put them all in danger?

Every bone in her body ached for her to collapse in defeat, for an eternity of rest. Shock instead continued to make the feline numb, refusing to give in to her desire.

These were, after all, her final moments.

And so she sat at the entrance to the village, staring at the icy mountaintops ahead, awaiting her phantom, the jade angel of death. It had been only a few hours since the defeat of the Jade Palace, the execution of her home, and tears fell from her whiskers as she slowly estimated how much time was left until the beast arrived. Knowing the land better than Kai did, she had figured out the path to the village. The way was not found on maps, rather only by word of mouth. Fortunately for her, she had remembrance of the panda's hushed whispers when he had visited his son at the Jade Palace. Her journey to the location had been rather quick, although the adrenaline had kept her on all fours at record speed. Despite the panic, the tiger had been fascinated by all the beautiful, majestic, unimaginable landmarks that she had discovered along the way.

The blue blossom trees. She almost had to stop to take in their beauty. Appreciate nature in a moment of solitude amidst the terror. The ground had been covered in the fallen pedals, her paw prints following behind her. She knew that Kai would eventually find them, leading him to their hideout, but in that moment she didn't care, which surprised her. Not caring was something she rarely took the time to do.

Her stomach growled, and she exhaled sharply. The pandas had fed her hours before, but she had little to eat. Adrenaline, she had said. That was partly true. But it was more like being taken captive by her body, a desire to give up and forget about the world and everything that had happened in her life.

She had hoped things would change when she saw Po, the ever-so powerful Dragon Warrior, but her comrade seemed to be dissolving into a worried version of herself, knowing that he had nothing to assist him with defeating the enemy.

The air grew colder and colder. Kai must be approaching. She could sense it. Two days, she had configured. Two days until he would arrive.

And two days until she would die.

"Tigress?"

She snapped to attention, quickly ducking down to wipe her face with her scorched clothing, knowing that her matted fur would still give her away. "Go away, Po."

There was a slight pause, knowing that he was evaluating the situation. "No."

She dug her claws into her palms with aggression, daring herself not to reveal her emotions. "I told you-" she found her voice weak as she looked above toward him. "I-" she took a shaky breath, "do not-"

Po's green eyes softened and he immediately kneeled down next to her. Never in his life had he seen Tigress so defeated, so broken.

"Shhh…" he placed a comforting paw on her shoulder. "You don't have to say a word."

Gritting her teeth, her chest heaved as she tried to take back control of her body. She _needed_ to be numb.

The panda looked at his friend, her amber orbs closing, releasing a single tear. It traveled down her cheek until it settled on her chin, latching onto her fur.

That was when the Dragon Warrior knew that this was the end.

They were going to die.

"Tigress, let's just talk," he found his own voice trembling. "This isn't going to do you any good."

The cold blasted against them, making the dirt she had dug up with her claws spring out of the earth and tumble off of the cliff. "No." she softly croaked.

Po felt his eyes prick with emotion. "There's got to be a way…" he couldn't bear to witness this loss of life.

A strange growl came from her throat, her voice cracking over the roar of the wind. "W-we've lost-t _everything_ , Po!"

Without hesitation, Po grabbed her arm tight, noticing the blood draining from her paws. She had broken through the skin.

She winced at the pain coming from his grip, her injuries from the Jade Palace still fresh. "Release me, panda!" her eyes suddenly fiery.

"No," he stared her down, determined to knock some sense into her. "Tigress, we haven't lost everything."

She couldn't take it anymore. She didn't have the energy, the means, or the life to fight her emotions. The tiger sank back against the stone wall, retracting her claws, feeling the stickiness of the blood on her fingertips. "What then?" she locked eyes with him, challenging his statement. "What's left of all of this? What's left of life?"

He took a breath, knowing that what he was about to do was risky, especially with her strength and temper. Reaching over with his free paw, he placed his thumb on her chin and gently wiped the tear off of her cheek. "We still…"

The tiger froze at his touch, somewhat shocked and at the same time comforted. "We still what, Po?"

He gave a small smile as his own tears began to fall. "We still have each other."

The wind blasted viciously, time standing still between the two warriors until the icy flames passed.

Po's voice dropped down to a whisper. "…and-d you-u and me…" he began to choke up, his vision becoming blurry, her orange outline the only thing clear to him. "We're going to f-fight until the end…" he breathed heavily as she grasped the paw that was still touching her mane. "…because we're a team."

Tigress sniffled, her adrenaline continuing to rush through her. She gripped him tighter. "I know…"

He looked her dead in the eye, hoping to break through to her. "Then you know…you know that you can't go down before I go down."

She nodded as they both let go, wiping her face once more.

"Tigress, please…stay with me," he watched her examine her bloodied paws. "I can't do this without you."

She looked at him, worry returning in her expression. "But how can we do this?" she countered. "It's impossible-"

He cut her off. "We're not going to discuss that."

"I beg your pardon?"

He sat back to the left of her against the wooden frame of the village entrance, looking down at his own paws. "We're just going to do it. There's no sense in overthinking the situation now. That's for tomorrow." The panda eyed her, the cold freezing the wetness on his cheeks. "Right now…let's just take in this moment…" he sighed loudly "…and forget."

She held her tail, the blood staining it. "Forget what, panda?"

"Forget Kai. Forget Kung Fu. Forget everything."

"And what will that do?"

Ignoring her, he sighed again. "Right now, let's forget and just be a panda and a tiger enjoying the view."

There was silence in the moments that passed, knowing that there was nothing to do except to breathe and listen to the gentle snores coming from the village. Somehow, the rest of the pandas had managed to sleep peacefully.

Tigress rummaged inside her robe, she usually kept a roll of bandages within the pockets of the material in case injuries appeared. Pulling out a small roll of fabric, she exhaled and began to wrap her paws. She had surprised herself. She hadn't bled, especially in her paws, for several years. She surmised that instead of physical strength, it had been the mental pain that drove her to cause the wounds.

She felt his stare, "It's doesn't hurt, Po," she reminded.

As she continued to apply pressure, a small blue petal fell from the fabric, landing on the ground between her and the Dragon Warrior. Po glanced at the delicate object before picking it up. "Is this from the blossom trees on the way here?"

"Yes," she replied, her voice monotone.

He stroked the petal, it was incredibly soft. "It's so beautiful," he whispered as he stretched out to give it to her.

She stopped from her task, admiring the royal shade. "That is why I took one." She accepted the petal from Po, placing it back on the ground.

"I always wanted to travel," she admitted, continuing to wrap. "See new places…that is, outside of Kung Fu."

Po crossed his legs. "I guess you could say that this was traveling?" he suggested.

"I suppose."

"If you could go anywhere, where would you go, Tigress?"

Using her teeth, she bit the leftover fabric and tied it off. "India," she stated rather quickly.

Confused, he furrowed his brow. "Why there?"

"Reasons," the tiger stared at the red designs on her robe.

Po waited for more information. Only silence answered.

"It must have been nice meeting your family," she said.

Po agreed. "Yeah, it was."

"At least you know…"

"Know?"

Tigress wiped her face once more. "Know that they're alive."

Po didn't say anything.

"They're in India," she continued as she tightened the bandage. "At least," she took a breath. "I think they are."

Po looked at her, knowing where she was going with this. He knew that his friend had also been adopted by Master Shifu.

"Your parents?" he asked.

She nodded once before shaking her head. "I'm not sure though…that's what I've gathered after years of research."

She brought her knees up to her chest, curling into a ball. "I've always wondered about them, what it's like to be a family."

Po knew how dark this was getting. Throughout the years of knowing her, she had never expressed such desires. "Well, I've always considered you as my family, Tigress."

She turned slowly, giving a slight smile. "That's kind of you, Po."

He chuckled. "You know, I couldn't help but notice you and Lei Lei at dinner."

She made an amused face. The small female panda had adored her, clinging onto her leg and showing Tigress her action figure that Po had given her as a present. "That's another thing," she murmured.

"Kids?" Po questioned.

She swallowed. "Kung Fu never allowed that."

Po was shocked. "You _wanted_ to be a mother?"

"Always have, always will."

The panda sat up straight against the wall. "Well, it doesn't really surprise me. You've always been good with children."

She chuckled. "I guess that's a sign of approval. Most people say otherwise."

"Well, Master Tigress," he gave her shoulder a pat. "I believe you would be an excellent mother."

"Thank you, Po."

More silence filled their ears. Although this time it was a peaceful type of nothingness. The anxiety of death had been put on hold for now.

The panda held his breath, once again preparing to do something risky. "Tigress, if this is it though, there's one thing I have to know," he slowly began inching toward her paw.

She froze, knowing his question. "Us?"

Noticing his motion, she took her paws from the ground and placed them on her lap, refusing his request. It was an inevitable question and she knew one day it would appear, the reason why their relationship was the way it was. Why longing sparked whenever they were together, why such an understanding of emotion was felt whenever they touched, why they loved each other in silence. However, she never thought that it would be asked like this, not so close to the end.

He paused, slightly hurt by her retraction. "Yes."

"That is also something Kung Fu would never allow, Po."

The panda exhaled, refusing to give up. "What if it was allowed?"

Her vision became to blur as she looked into his eyes, amber meeting jade. "Maybe in another lifetime, Po. Not this one."

A tear fell from the Dragon Warrior. "But this one is about to be over though…isn't it?"

Silence. One of pain and one of yearning.

"Tigress, just say it."

She closed her eyes. "I can't."

"Well, then I will."

"Po…" she warned. "Don't."

"Why not, Tigress? It's the end!"

"Panda, don't you-"

"I l-"

He was interpreted by the wind, the cold blast was stronger an ever before. They stared at each other intensely, connecting powerfully until a dash of blue rose from the air, drifting away. Po pointed at it, the petal.

Her reflexes were sharp, quickly reaching out for the flower, Po stretching out to catch it as well.

Their palms came together, both working to capture the delicate blossom, their fingers intertwining as they sealed the petal between their paws.

She looked down, taking in the moment.

He squeezed her paw.

She squeezed back.

Whatever role this petal had played seconds ago, it had seemingly brought them together as an act of unplanned fate…finally.

She took a breath. "You know what, Po…" she gave a bittersweet look. "Let's just take in this moment," she moved her thumb across his. "And forget."

He returned her look, giving a small smile. "Okay."

And so they sat. Forgetting Kai, forgetting Kung Fu, forgetting everything. The hours passed, the wind blew, and the sun shined once more. They stayed together, sitting, holding on to their last moments alone until a new lifetime came.

* * *

 _ **The End**_


End file.
